Day 2 In Portland Photography Workshop: What cars can teach us about photography…

Someone told me once that it takes six months to make a Rolls Royce but only two hours to make a Toyota. I’m sitting in the back of the room at the Ultimate Stock Photography Workshop, and attendees are asking about editing photos on their computer and how much processing you need to do to make your photos salable. Last night we saw a few of professional stock photographer Lise Gagne’s photos, and she talked about what she goes through to create a successful photo-shoot. She talked about hiring makeup artists and stylists… drawing sketches to help visualize the idea she hopes to capture in her shoot… and eventually how much editing she does to make her images perfect for stock. (The “Rolls Royce” approach, in other words.) You can see some of them here: Meanwhile, just a presentation or two before that, Bonnie Caton put up a few photos from her portfolio. With a piece of white poster board on her back deck, Bonnie created photos that fill her portfolio (Toyota style). She’s no Lise Gagne as you can see. But maybe some day she will be. And until she gets to that point, she’s doing just fine selling simple images from her travels and from her back deck. You can see a few of Bonnie’s photos here: And some of the photos attendees are getting here at the workshop, here… Duane Anderson Penny Russell Wendy Swanson Mary Margaret Baker Jaqueline Harvey Ron Murchie When you’re just starting out, remember that it’s a lot easier — and a lot less time-consuming — to build a Toyota than it is a Rolls Royce. Start with simple images, and build your portfolio from there. Most of all, remember to have fun. The more fun you have shooting photos of the things you like best — your family, friends, travels, favorite foods — the more likely you’ll be to stick with it. And the more photos you take, the better your photography will get. Tomorrow is our last day here, and we’ll talk more specifically about preparing images for sale. Stay tuned. — Lori Lori Allen Director, Great Escape Publishing [Editor’s Note: Learn more about how you can turn your pictures into cash in our free online newsletter The Right Way to Travel. Sign up here today and we’ll send you a new report, Selling Photos for Cash: A Quick-Start Guide, completely FREE.]